But the Republicans are at it again, this time with the help of the media.  Instead of calling it an Islamic community center (which it is), the name “Ground Zero Mosque” has stuck.

Brian Beutler writes today at Talking Points Memo, “Is the Term ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ This Year’s ‘Death Panel’?” The answer is a very sad yes.  Brian will join me in the first hour of tonight’s show to talk about the fallacy of the label, and how it came to be.  And yes, employees of Rupert Murchoch were the ones who got it going, and the rest of the media continued.

But again, it’s neither a mosque nor is at at Ground Zero.

Victoria Jones, who will join us at the top of the second hour with a report from the Talk Radio News Service, has a terrific piece up today on Huffington Post, “Obama and the Mosque — Cool Logic Spawns Heated Inanity,” in which she makes the same points I’ve been attempting to impart:

“…

moving Cordoba House makes 19 dead losers larger than life, it says we’re still impacted by you. This is New York we’re talking about. The city stands up for itself.

This is about demonizing all Muslims because some of the worst men we can imagine defiled Islam by calling themselves Muslims, murdered 3,000 human beings, and devastated their families. It ignores the fact that Muslims died as victims on September 11, it ignores the fact that Muslims serve in the US military, it ignores the fact that Muslims contribute to the good of our country, it ignores the fact that al Qaeda has killed more Muslims than anyone else.

This isn’t who we are. This is sad.”

It is sad.  What’s really sad is that the important issues are swept under the rug while we “debate” nonsense like Freedom of Religion, something that should be a given in the USA. Or the 14th Amendment.

The Republicans continue throwing our false memes to take our eye off the ball and get their lemmings without the ability of critical thought to parrot them. Seriously. If you wonder why they want to gut public education, wonder no longer. They want an dumbed-down electorate who will do as they’re told and believe the bullshit they’re spoon fed.

And it’s working.  How else can you explain the unemployed among them fighting against unemployment benefits; the uninsured fighting against health care reform;  poor people fighting against the repeal of Republican tax cuts for the wealthy, etc… The list goes on and on.

Stupid is as stupid does, I guess.

And they have the better copywriters.

Of course, the “Ground Zero Mosque” came up on the Sunday talking head shows, so we’ll revisit it with Nicole Belle of Crooks & Liars when she joins in for our regular Fools on the Hill segment.  (** We didn’t have time to get into this story, but you should definitely check out who the top Right Wing bloggers consider the 25 worst figures in America. Wow.

And we’ll also check in with Carrie Stone, a listener from West Virginia who attended a rally last week to counter an anti-marriage equality rally.  The fight goes on…